froy wrote:brywool wrote:I'd rather see him do more stuff from 100 Years and Boomchild (Boom and Harry's Hands for sure) and maybe one Shaw tune. It would make that tune more special and he really doesn't NEED to be doing any of those really. He's Dennis DeYoung, not Styx- but I'm sure most will disagree. If he did a different Shaw song each night, that could be cool.
It's funny you feel this way when Dennis does Tommy Shaw Styx tunes but when Gowan destroys Dennis Styx tunes you are all in,
Dennis is Styx Tommy is Styx Jy is Styx that's how you have to look at it. If Shaw sang Lady good for him . If Gowan sings it shame on him. If Dennis and his band now carry the STYX tourch I say it's about damn time,
Styx is still selling STYX. Dennis is selling DENNIS DEYOUNG SOLO ARTIST. That is the difference Froy.
Styx was a BAND that had hits with Dennis. Dennis is no longer there. Styx is still expected to perform the hits and most of the hits were Dennis's.
I don't agree that Dennis was Styx as Higgy suggests. Styx was a GROUP. Dennis is the first one to say that, at least in interviews. Whether he thought that or not is anyone's guess.
Dennis on the other hand should be promoting himself as a solo artist with a new record to plug and a new career to get moving. Sure, he can play his Styx hits. He can play Tommy's too (and he is). However, what does that get him? I suppose it sells records and that gives him dough, but how many times can you sell 30 year old albums? If he promotes his new career, he sells new albums and moves into a new chapter. If he sings the old stuff, well, then he's hoping people will still buy those old albums, in which case (to Froy's point about Gowan) BOTH camps should be singing Styx's songs. I just have a hard time believing the old albums still sell enough to matter. I think that if 100 Years (or Cyclo) were released today on DECENT labels, then those albums would sell more TODAY than the 30 year old albums of Styx would sell TODAY. I don't mean they'd outsell those albums (duh).
So if Cyclo or 100 came out today and sold 50,000 copies in 2011, I'd bet that Grand Illusion wouldn't sell that in 2011. So I don't understand the point- Other than touring of course and making money that way. Is Dennis trying to sell more concert tickets by adding Tommy stuff? Could be, but how's anyone going to know that he's done that other than word of mouth?
I guarantee you, that had Dennis not started playing Tommy's songs, nobody would've missed them because they know they're coming to see Dennis. Now that he has done that, I think he'll have a hard time NOT doing them.